A Dolce Gusto Review

Its no secret that I am a huge coffee fan..........................Its fair to say that I love it possibly more than chocolate.....................I was therefore beyond excited when the lovely people at Dolce Gusto asked me if I would like to review not one but three Espresso coffee pods.

I received a fabulous gift box filled with coffee pods, a cupcake and the most gorgeous little Espresso cups and saucers which are just the cutest things ever.

I must confess that I didn't try all three on the same day as I was slightly worried I might not be able to sleep.

I had tried the Lungo and the Espresso Intenso before and loved them both but I had never tried the brand new Ristretto Ardenza before. I was not disappointed at all, the flavour was delicious and as an after dinner coffee it was just perfect.

The Ristretto Ardenza is the new flavour and is now available to purchase from the Webshop as an online-exclusive new variety.

As an added little extra they are also giving away boxes of Ristretto Ardenza for fans on their Dolce Gusto Facebook page to try on The Pod (here: www.thepod.co.uk) until the 27^th of October. 30 people will win a free box to be among the first to try the new variety.

You don't have long so hop on over there and have a peep.

I'm off to grab another cup of coffee.

Lots of Love

Me

xxxxx

Disclaimer - I was sent the Dolce Gusto Espresso Hamper free of charge for the purpose of this review but all opinions are completely my own.

Changes.

Changes are coming I can feel them like a small niggle in the back of my head, not always there but definitely present somewhere in the depths of my brain........................................................Her provisional driving license arrived today along with a letter from one of her chosen Universities, I looked at them for a long time before stuffing them in a drawer then taking them back out again only to once again throw them in the drawer and shut it tightly.

I want to do this to time..........................I want to grab time by the hair and stick it in a drawer until another day.

How can we be doing this, how can we actually be contemplating buying her a car and deciding where she is going to go to Uni..............................................................................................She is too young.................................No, she's not................................Yes she is...............................................

"Get a grip" is a statement I regularly tell myself, "pull yourself together you complete nelly" is another thing I will say whilst looking in the mirror.

I am either going to fall to pieces or embrace the whole situation fully, I will cry I know this much.........................I am an ugly crier and have often caught myself looking like I have a bad case of constipation whilst tears stream down my face. Friends have informed me that it is by far one of the worst days of your life when you have to leave a child at Uni. I have visions of never leaving and just moving to wherever she is just so I can see her every day..................................................The male teen is all for it and has secretly admitted to me that he cant even think about her going away. Who would of thought that he would of even noticed her absence. He doesn't want her room (as its bigger) even though she has offered it to him in exchange for his little room being done up for when she is home. He wants it left for her just as it is.............................................................................................

God, I am being a right moaner aren't I, sorry.............................Actually, I'm not sorry.

I'm bloody sad...................Cross..............Proud...............Excited...................Confused.........A mixture of emotions.

OK!!!! You get the picture, I am not going to bang on anymore......................................I will get through this that much I know, she is going to have the most fantastic time and as long as she is happy and safe then I am too.

I must warn you that I will be blogging from time to time about this whole process in great lengths which some of you might find helpful either for now or even in the future................................I am determined to take a comical approach to all this as its my way of dealing with it I think (not that you would know it from this post) and hope that I can gain advice and tips from anyone else who has already been through it.

This post was sponsored by Gin and tissues............xxxx

Wet Socks.

 

The rain fell, the wind howled

I made the toast whilst they watched and scowled

"Please oh please wont you take us today?"

"We'll get soaked out there and it is on your way".

 

"Alright" I replied whilst stirring my tea

"YIPPEE" yelled The Teens leaping with glee

"I'm leaving in five so don't muck around,

If your not ready then your gonna get drowned".

 

To the car we all ran, umbrellas up high

The dog sensed my panic and started to cry

She looked at him and I knew there was trouble

I started the car and sped off on the double.

 

"For Gods sake move over, your hogging the seat"

"Oh shut up you Diva and get your bag off my feet"

"Muuuummmmm" she cried "I cant fit it all in"

"Try packing less makeup" he said with a grin.

 

I wanted to turn and scream at them "NO"

But the car was steamed up and we needed to go

"She's got soooo much stuff" he turned and yelled at her

"And now look" he said "She's crushed my Ciabatta".

 

I pulled up outside and sighed with relief

"OH NO" said the boy "I haven't done my teeth"

"There's no time for that, here have some gum.

Now get out the car and bloody well RUN"

 

I arrived back at home feeling quite in a muddle

Stepped out of the car and straight into a puddle

That's it I thought I'm cancelling today

Indoors I will go and there I will stay.

 

THE END

 



If You Go Into The Attic Today......

Whilst most of you were probably enjoying the Bank Holiday weekend I was in fact doing the unenviable task of clearing out my loft. What started as a quick "can you go into the loft and get me that bag of shoes" turned out to be the most epic, revolting and quite frankly knackering Saturday ever. The Husband is the only one who ever goes up into The Black Hole ,as none of us are brave enough not since the last time when the most enormous spider fell onto my head.
This spider was so big I swear it winked at me as I ran round screaming whilst it sat comfortably on my head, The Teenager locked herself in her room and The Whirlwind decided it would be great fun to catch it and keep it as a pet called Steve. That little fantasy came to an abrupt end when The Husband stamped on it with his size 12 shoe ....Goodbye Steve.
Anyway back to the loft. We have lived in our little house for 12 years now so you can imagine the clutter that has been thrown stored up there. Many things came down that I haven't seen for a long time. Here is a list of just some of the more memorable things.

1. 2 boxes of baby memorabilia, including both kids umbilical clips (one even had something resembling a mushroom still on it).
2. 6 odd shoes. (my point about how you always only ever see one left shoe by the side of the road is finally made).
3. 2 books on sex. First book is the Karma Sutra (well that's out due to my back and the Husbands lack of flexibility) and the second is 101 ways to please your partner (at no stage in this book did it say "a cup of tea and a cream cake will please your partner).
4. A toaster, kettle, toilet (yes toilet), thermos and a potty. (it was at this point that I asked the Husband to check thoroughly that a small family hadn't been living right above our heads).
5. My wedding dress.

Item number 5 brought back a memory that I just had to sit and relive for a while. And now I am going to share it with you as it is just to funny to remain in my head.

The day before I got married in the above mentioned dress my Mother had kindly offered to put my 3 bridesmaids and me up in her little cottage. The day started well with me and 2 of my bridesmaids happily decorating the venue and generally being excited. My third bridesmaid who will remain nameless (she is in fact the same one who in my last blog drove me through a hedge in her car) arrived from her home land of Spain and the scene was set for a great evening.

I cant quite remember who had the idea of giving her and my Mother a couple of sleeping tablets but one of us clearly had our reasons. The 3rd bridesmaid spent most of night shouting out in her sleep and accusing everyone of various crimes and wanting jelly and my Mother slept like a baby.............until 6am.
(At this stage I must point out that I was sharing a room with her ).
I opened my eyes and suddenly remembered that my big day had finally arrived, the day I had been painstakingly planning for a whole year. I lay there for a while wondering if the door would open and breakfast on a tray with a flower would appear. I listened for any movements but nothing. Suddenly a groan sounded from the other side of the room and then a slight whisper of "HELP ME".
As I turned over the sight that meet me was not pleasant.......The Mother was sitting bolt upright in bed with her top lip curled under which was well and truly stuck to her teeth. "HELP ME PLEASE"
she shouted "I CANT FEEL MY FACE".

What then happened was panic, panic and a bit more panic then me shouting for help and the others (minus the 3rd bridesmaid as the tablets had had a similar effect on her) running around trying to unglue my mothers lips from her teeth, this process took about an hour and resulted in Mum having a slight look of Ken Dodd for most of the morning. The 3rd bridesmaid to this day is still oblivious to the whole thing. However people have commented on what full lips she has in my photos.

After remembering this incident I cant say I was much help as I then had to ring Mum to relive the whole thing with her.
Anyway the loft is now completely finished and The Husband seems very pleased with himself at the emptiness of it. What I haven't told him is that most of the stuff he sent down is now in my cupboard waiting for me to go and have a good look through it and then it will all have to go back up there again.

Still he'll be pleased when he realises Ive kept the 2 books down here !!!!